Thank You

Read:

Luke 17:11-21
One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” (Luke 17:15).

When my grandmother was in her twenties, she became very ill. Nothing she or the doctors tried healed her. She believed there was a God but didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. One day a co-worker told her to visit a house church nearby and ask the people to pray for her. In her desperation, my grandmother decided to go. And after the prayer time, she was healed! This miracle changed her life. Since then, she’s been thanking Jesus daily for healing her body and her soul.

My grandmother’s experience reminds me of the ten men with leprosy Jesus passed by on His way to Jerusalem. They were surely desperate (Luke 17:12). A person who had leprosy in that day was considered unclean, both physically and spiritually, and was supposed to live secluded—outside the city (Leviticus 13:45-46). When the ten men saw Jesus from afar, they recognized His spiritual authority and begged Him to show them mercy.

When Jesus heard their plea, He told them to go and show themselves to the priests, following the Levitical law (Luke 17:14; Leviticus 14:2-6). They obeyed, and on the way they were healed! Only one returned to show his gratitude toward Jesus, however. He didn’t take God’s mercy for granted and found time to thank Jesus to show his appreciation (Luke 17:15-16).

The leper who showed gratitude experienced the restorative work of God’s kingdom through Jesus. He was commended for his faith and received God’s grace, a further healing of his soul (Luke 17:19).

Even when we don’t get physical healing or the answers we desire, may we also welcome Jesus to reign in our hearts and always find reasons to thank Him for what He’s done and is doing. He’s always worthy of our gratitude.

Choose Your Lens

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. — Philippians 4:11-12, NIV

Not long ago, I tried on a pair of jeans at a consignment store that didn’t look so great in the shadowy dressing-room mirror. I was taking them back to the rack when I saw a newer mirror in the main room outside, and decided to take a quick second look. Score! The jeans looked completely different once I looked in a better mirror. The mirrors in the dressing room were older and darker, giving a distorted reflection that almost fooled me.

We’ve all looked at ourselves in distorted mirrors. What we may not realize, though, is that we often see everyday life—especially our challenging circumstances—through a similarly distorted lens. Oh, if only such-and-such was different, I’d feel better, is a common refrain. If only my husband realized what I have to deal with every day is another. The view through that lens makes us discontented and tempts us to grumble. We try to change our discontentment by changing what we think has led to it. We try to amass more money to get out of that tiny apartment. We try to change how our kids appear to the outside world. We try to force our spouse to do things our way (“The right way!”).

The result? Exhaustion. Leading right back to disappointment and discontent.

Or perhaps instead we just grumble a bit about the inconvenience or injustice of the situation. Once those emotions start taking root in our hearts, they often leak out onto our classmates, kids, spouse, coworkers, or friends.

The result? Yet again, exhaustion. Further discontent.

No matter what is going on, we can set aside our “right” to be discontented. Instead, we can take God’s challenge to find contentment in every situation. Instead of looking through the lens that shows the most unflattering perspective, let’s choose the one that changes everything. That lens is called gratitude. Gratitude for everything God has allowed us to have that is good (that we might not be focusing on right now) and gratitude that He is sufficient. Not just sufficient to get us through what is difficult—and bear up both us and the scowl on our face—but sufficient to get us through difficult times with a joyful heart!

Try practicing gratitude today. The facts of the situation won’t change, but your perspective on them will. You may not be able to control your circumstances, but every day you do have control over how you view them.

When the Going Gets Tough

There I was driving along, half hypnotized by the steady flow of traffic. I glanced at the car ahead of me. The bumper sticker read, “When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!” I chuckled. But then I thought: Could you really call yourself “tough” if you headed for the mall every time life went sour? As I drove, I pondered how to really finish that sentence, “When the going gets tough, the tough . . . do what?”

A quick Internet search on the phrase returned endless possibilities for completing the thought. Here are some of the wackiest endings: “When the going gets tough, the tough “go to Asia,” or, the tough “start knitting.” One even said, “The tough lighten up!”

All of these alternative endings are humorous in their own way. But, they also represent ways to deal with “tough going.” For example, shopping could symbolize immediate gratification. Racing off to Asia might mean you’re running away from the problem. Starting to knit is a picture of distracting yourself from the trouble at hand. And if you simply lighten up, or laugh it off—that’s kind of like denial.

I don’t think any of us would get very far in life if we repeatedly chose those responses to trouble. They all contradict the traditional ending to the phrase. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” The tough hang in there; they persevere. James 1:12 says: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life.”

In the Greek language, the word perseverance is literally made up of two words. One means “to remain.” The other word means “under.” That tells us that perseverance is the ability to remain under the pressure of difficulty with a good spirit. As Christians, we have a responsibility to bear the stress until God accomplishes His purposes. This gives us the assurance that our suffering has meaning.

In fact, God intends that we, in time, will blossom under the pressure. That’s why James exhorts us to submit to the trial and let perseverance finish its job of sanctification. In James 1:4, the text tells us, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” And, check out Romans 5:1-21 where Paul says that perseverance produces character!

In addition to the blessings that God brings to us when we persevere, perseverance also allows others to see Christ at work in our lives. With the growing interest in spirituality today, people are watching us more than ever before. They are looking to see if there is anything of value in our walk with Jesus. Or, are we just like anyone else when the going gets tough? They want to know, would a Christian use a string of four-letter words if she lost the big sale? Would a Christian booze it up after a crazy stressful day at the office? What would it take for a Christian to throw in the towel on his marriage? When we invite God to help us through situations like these, He furnishes the power to persevere so that onlookers can see that our Jesus is worth being faithful to regardless of the stress.

The next time a problem comes up and you’re tempted to go shopping, gallivant off to Asia, or knit yourself into oblivion, remember: Since God has a purpose in your problem, it’s worth hanging in there! So, if you are a follower of Jesus, your bumper sticker announces, “When the going gets tough, the tough hang in there!”